


Long-Distance Surprise

by mggislife2789



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Army, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Military, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-02-02 20:09:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12733467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mggislife2789/pseuds/mggislife2789
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original stories. This is only for fun. It's where my brain goes after the credits roll. No copyright intended. Better safe than sorry. ;)





	Long-Distance Surprise

“Garcia?”

“Y/N? How are you? Where are you? Why are you calling me? Have you called Hotch yet?”

Y/N laughed at his boyfriend’s eager friend and colleague. “Calm down. I’m on my home, but it’s a surprise for Aaron’s birthday. I want to surprise him and Jack. Can you help me?”

“Can I help you? Ummm…do you know me? I am the queen of surprises. I shall rain down surprises on top of his perfectly coiffed hair and bespoke suit. Yes, I can help you.”

Garcia was the queen. Y/N had to give her that.

“Okay, so I have this idea…”

—

After getting off the phone with Y/N, Garcia went into overdrive, secretly inviting everyone on the team to a surprise party for Hotch - before she had a venue. “Hey, Rossi!” She beckoned him closer, happily bouncing on her tip toes, her brain buzzing with ideas. “Can I make a little, teeny, tiny request?”

“I’m guessing it’s not so tiny,” he laughed. “What can I do for you, my love?”

Quickly, and as quietly as she could, she told Rossi all about how Y/N was coming home to surprise Hotch. “I want to have a party for his birthday and Y/N will surprise him there, but…I don’t have a venue. Your place? Giant mansion?”

“It’s not the giant.”

“It’s pretty giant. So…?”

“Of course, Penelope. Just let me know what you need.”

With a venue in place, and everyone on the team notified (and threatened to keep quiet), she got to planning decorations and food and music; there would be playlists of all kinds, streamers would be hanging from every post and tree limb imaginable and there would be all kinds of food…and alcohol, there definitely had to be some alcohol.

And then the day came. 

It was Hotch’s birthday. He hated celebrating his birthday, but his friends and teammates always managed to pull a smile from him. “You went a little overboard?” Hotch smiled, watching as Penelope grimaced and gave a firm thumbs up.

“Yes, but how could I do anything less for our fearless leader?” She happily wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in for a bear hug. As she looked around, she took in her handy work; it was a beautiful day out, so everything was outside. Hanging from every tree limb and place that something could be hung were varying shades of blue and orange streamers (Hotch’s favorite colors) bunches of similarly colored balloons, handfuls of colored confetti sprinkled among the grass and a table filled with all types of foods, mostly pigs in a blanket, mac and cheese, and barbecue.

Jack was minding his own business, not paying attention to anything but the food in front of him. He chowed down on a rib and passed one to his dad before he started to play catch with Derek.

A smile spread across his face as he took in the sight of his son having a good time with one of his good friends. Although he didn’t like celebrating his birthday, they (and by they, he meant Garcia) had put in a ton of work on this; if nothing else, he felt loved.

That’s when it dawned on him. Y/N wasn’t here. No, he was off serving the country on the front lines; Aaron was proud of him. But that didn’t mean he didn’t miss him, especially on his birthday. 

Normally, he was good at masking his emotions, but Garcia caught on immediately. “You miss Y/N?” She asked.

“Yea,” he replied quickly, his clipped speech telling her without any more words that he didn’t want to talk about it in depth. “But thank you for everything. I do love you, Penelope.”

She blushed so brightly it looked like her cheeks could pop. “I love you, too, Sir. Oh yay!”

His head snapped to where Garcia was looking. Emerging from the corner was a giant box. “What the hell is that?”

She did a triple take between him and the box. “It’s from us!”

“Penelope, you’ve done enough!” His soft smile warmed her heart; she knew something he didn’t - for once.

Jack ran up to the box and knocked on it, trying to figure out what might be inside even though he knew it wasn’t for him. “Daddy, what is it?”

“I have no idea,” he said, scooping up the young boy. “But your aunts and uncles got it for me…which they shouldn’t have.”

“Open it! Open it!” Jack cried.

Behind him, his teammates were smiling from ear-to-ear, but he couldn’t pinpoint what might be in a box that big. As he approached, he noticed the box was slightly caved in, so there was air inside. It couldn’t be an arcade game, which could come in a box that big, so it had to be something else. He peeled back the box and all of it sudden it was punched with so much force from the inside that he stepped back.

“Hey, babe.”

Jack screamed. “Y/N!”

“Hey, kiddo! How’s my favorite kid ever?”

“I’m good. Are you here to surprise Daddy?”

“Yes I am.”

A speechless Aaron stood still as Y/N approached him, tapping Garcia on the shoulder and thanking her for putting everything together. “You did all this and didn’t spoil the surprise?” He asked. “I’m so proud of you.” He didn’t dare look back at the rest of his friends. There were tears in his eyes that were barely held back.

“Hey, babe,” Y/N repeated. “Surprised?”

A tear rolled down his cheek and he moved into him, placing a tear-stained kiss to his lips. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too. I can only stay for a couple days, but I really wanted to be here.”

“I’m glad you are.” Swallowing hard, he leaned into him again and kissed his cheek, planting another one on top of Jack’s head. “And you,” he said, spinning around to find Garcia. “I should yell at you. I hate surprises…but this one isn’t so bad.”

Apparently, Rossi had disappeared right after Y/N made his big entrance, and he came out with a cake. “Everyone!”

A chorus of less-than-melodic happy birthdays started up, making Aaron blush. He never blushed. Y/N pulled him in, taking in the little moment. Aaron was a stoic man, but he had a soft side, and it was a beautiful thing - something he wanted to burn into his brain each time so that he’d have it to look at while he was fighting the fight overseas. 

When the song came to a close, Aaron thanked everyone again. “Really, you shouldn’t have. You though,” he said to Y/N, “I’m more than glad you did. Now who wants ice cream cake?”

Jack nearly punched Y/N in the face he got so excited. “Me!”

“Hey, you didn’t get that excited when I came out of that box, but you get excited for cake?”

“What?” Aaron laughed at the pure innocence on Jack’s face. “It’s ice cream cake!”


End file.
